This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. The Nebraska Center for Nanomedicine (NCN), a Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) has been created from this award. Nanomedicine is a rapidly developing area of biomedical research that uses devices of nanoscale size to address urgent needs for improved drug and gene delivery. Such "next generation" therapies can specifically deliver drugs and recombinant DNAs to focal areas of disease or to tumors to maximize clinical benefit while limiting untoward side effects. Such nanotechnologies are expected to drastically improve early diagnosis through bioimaging techniques. This parallels the road map for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where nanomedicine was identified as a development initiative for the next decade. In keeping with these ideas, the Center will serve to join already strong areas of biomedical and material science research into an even stronger unit. Such goals can now be realized with the established expertise in biomedical sciences (neuroscience, pathology, immunology, pharmacology, immunization and cancer biology) and those in the material sciences (nanomaterials, polymers, drug delivery, and gene delivery) within the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC). The primary goal of the Center is to provide a foundation for synergistic research activities and translating the efforts into clinical benefit for diseases with limited treatment options while simultaneously developing a potentially "visionary" area of science where the State of Nebraska can emerge as a world-leader.